Carrot and Cashew Pâté

Richard Buckley, Head Chef at Acorn Vegetarian Kitchen in Bath says: ‘This recipe is a nod to the country’s greatest veggie chef, Mark Evans* of Tierra Kitchen in Lyme Regis. It’s become a classic in our restaurant but we learnt the basics of it from him. As a starter, this pâté is delicious when served with slices of crisped bread or rustic crackers and a scattering of micro greens.’

(*Those of you who live in Bristol may remember Mark from his lovely food at Café Maitreya, now Maitreya Social).

Measurements note: many modern digital scales offer tiny measurements like 3g. Otherwise, start small when using spices or salt and adjust to taste! Chefs like Richard use these precise measurements to ensure consistency of taste in the restaurant.

Gluten free

Wheat free

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Total time

25 minutes

Meal

soups-starters

Servings

4-6

Ingredients

600g large carrots, peeled weight
15g ginger, peeled weight
6g coriander seed
6 star anise
5g salt
Olive or cold-pressed rapeseed oil
200g cashew nuts

PLUS

A large shallow baking tray or two
Baking parchment

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan assisted 160°C), 350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Slice the ginger and cut the carrots into 3cm/1½ inch chunks.

3. Toss with the coriander seed, star anise, salt and good glug of oil.

4. Wrap the carrots, ginger, coriander seed, star anise, salt and oil in parchment paper en papillote and place on a baking tray. ‘En papillote’ just means that you steam food in a sealed paper packet. This is how to do it.

Cut the parchment paper into a large circle.
Fold it in half then open it out and place on a baking sheet.
Add the ingredients onto one half of the circle, towards the crease and trying to keep it as compact as possible. If there’s too much filling, just create another large circle of baking parchment and add the leftovers.
Fold the edge of the paper towards you tightly. After the first fold, take the next inch or so and fold it towards you again, overlapping the previous fold a little bit.
Continue this until the whole packet is sealed up.

5. Roast in the pre-heated oven, turning the parcel(s) every 15 minutes until the carrots are meltingly soft but not coloured.

6. Leave to cool and then remove from the packaging making sure to remove all the aromatics (spices).

7. Put the cashews onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 7 minutes or until getting golden. Use a timer.

8. Put the cashews into a food processor and churn to chunky bread crumbs. Remove and put into a mixing bowl.

9. Process the carrots to the same texture and add to the cashews. Mix well and season with salt to taste.

Optional: Using a timbale mould, place the formed pâté on a serving plate next to an assortment of cubed pickled vegetables, micro greens and carrot shavings.

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